It's Bloomin' Tuesday!

Welcome!

I have a lot of color in the garden this week. Most of what I showed last week is still blooming and following are the new bloomers this week.

Verbascum, Mullein is another of my favorites. They just seem so old fashion to me for some reason and I love the soft colors.

The details are so amazing!

I planted some cosmos seeds but since they weren't ready to bloom, I bought a few plants. They sure add a burst of color!

This lily has several buds so I should be enjoying it for awhile.

The day lilies spread so much that this is the only red hot poker lily that bloomed. I guess I'll need to dig them out and put them in a larger space.

I like the grayish foliage and the blooms on this Rose Campion. I've had it before but lost it somehow so I bought more this year.

I planted some of these Gazania in my wagon this year. They are really gorgeous. I wish they were perennials.

The double Hollyhocks are going to bloom this year. Only the red is open so far. They look almost like carnations to me.

I believe these are Ladybells. They have spread quite well in the wild garden. I have 3 different clumps now.

Limerock Dream Coreopsis adds another burst of color in the wild garden. I just moved it to where I had to cut the lupine down. You don't even notice the cut down plants with this beauty there.

Another favorite, Manarda, is just getting ready to open. I love the blooms and the wonderful scent they give off.

As you can see, I did have some bloomin' goin' on for the Secret Garden Tour. We had a pretty good weather day, overcast, which is good for taking pictures and just a few drops of rain a couple times. I'll tell you more during the week but I decided to do a little give away. Take a guess as to how many people came to my garden. The tour was from 10:30 to 4:00. Whoever is closest, without going over, will get a small prize. Just put your guess in your comment before 6:00 Wednesday night.

If you want to join the tour, just add your name and permalink to Mr Linky and add a link to this post on your blog. I think it would be fun if you put your name and STATE on Mr Linky so we know right away where your garden is located. Now sit back and enjoy the tour.

Secret Garden Tour!

Today is the big day! The tour starts at 10:30 this morning.

I'm as ready as I'll ever be. The weather looks great, at least in the morning and early afternoon.

I'm ready to get this show on the road!

Hose Guards

PVC pipe pounded into the ground topped off with trailor hitches. Hitches found at a barn sale for 3 dollars each.

Sweeties Picnic and a Swim

We had a great day Monday for a picnic and a swim on the deck!

It's Bloomin' Tuesday!

Welcome and thank you for the great response! Seems every week we are meeting new gardeners and seeing wonderful new blooms!
Today I'm going to start out front. This is another purple clematis. I really like it but the tag looked like it was more burgundy. It's actually a beautiful shade of purple.

Things are beginning to bloom in the front gardens now. To the left of the chair is a variegated lavender. To the right of the watering can are campanula and petit manarda (bee balm).

I do love this campnula and moved it from the wild garden last year so it could be seen better. I think it was a good choice.

The Stella de'Oro lilies are doing well and there are lots of buds on the other day lilies.

Feverfew is going strong. It just pops up where ever it pleases. If I don't like it there I just pull it out.

As you can see the foxglove are almost finished but the evening prim roses have spread very well.

I have 3 different blooms in the same family and love them all. The first 2 spread well but do not stay in a bunch.

I love that about them but it does make mulching difficult. I tend to mulch very lightly so I don't kill any when they are sprouting.

The one with the bright personality in this family is the sun drop. You sure won't miss these blooms!

They do clump more but still spread very well. Here you can see them at the bottom of the 'wild' garden with the loosestrife at the top.

My yard is certainly colorful right now and I am truly excited about that! As most of you have read, I've been working extremely hard in the yard this year and doing lots of improvements. Truth be told, I work out at least a couple hours every day and I am getting tired. You can discover the reason for all this hard work by reading this article from our local Sunday newspaper.

I don't know about you, but I'm ready for a nice break and a garden tour I don't need to leave my chair for! If you would like to join the tour, just add your name and permalink to Mr Linky and add a link to this post on your blog. Remember you must sign up each week you want to be a part of the tour. It's time to show off your 'bloomers'!

Food for Thought

If you've never experienced the joy of accomplishing more than you can imagine, plant a garden.

Robert Brault

I need to quit...

...thinking!

The more I think, the more work I make for myself!

I thought it would be cute to have a chair by the table I showed you yesterday. I took one outside and realized the table wasn't tall enough for a normal chair. I tried this bench and it worked. I knew I couldn't keep it white but wasn't sure what color it should be.
After thinking for awhile I decided to paint it gray and then...

...cover it with cement.

It was just the touch the table needed. Now I need to quit thinking and enjoy!

Inspiration!

Chris and Laurie had to have a tree cut down this year. When Laurie saw the trunk pieces, she thought of this. We saw this awesome table on a garden tour a few years ago. She e-mailed me a picture and asked if I'd like one. You know I said YES!
Chris used a hoist for a car engine to get the wood into his truck. He brought a piece of plywood and put it on top of the stump. We decided how to cut the plywood and I started covering it with cement. (Remember that 90 lb. bag of cement I bought!)
Laurie had the idea to put ferns in the table top. I had accidentally broke off some pieces of a large fern when I was trimming. I pushed them into the wet cement and left them for a while.
I LOVE it and think it's a perfect addition to my shade garden!

Thanks Chris and Laurie!

It's Bloomin' Tuesday!

Welcome!

It's bloomin' thyme!

A purple clematis with the dark pink geranium planted in front.
A closeup.
These carnations are really more purple than they look here.

My Knockout Rose is knockin' out the blooms.

A newer perennial Veronica, Royal Candles.

This is definitely a new favorite.

Centaurea Dealbata with an added critter. I've had this in my 'wild' garden for several years now and it's almost a bush.

The 'wild' garden. Yellow loosestrife. Back left, daisies, middle, Beard tongue, Red Huckster (the stems are red), right, light pink cranesbill geranium.

Bottom middle, dragonfly made from silverware.
That's what's bloomin' in my little corner of the world. What's bloomin' in yours? To join our garden tour, just add your name and permalink to Mr Linky below. Please also add a link to this post on your blog. To get different Bloomin' Tuesday buttons and list of 'rules' click the button on my sidebar. Remember everyone is welcome and you must sign up every week. Now sit back with a cool beverage of your choice and see what's bloomin' all around our country!